Vengeance
by Angel of Apathy
Summary: Time Agents in Cardiff are bound to cause trouble. So Torchwood have to stop them. Jack/Ianto, includes Capt. John Hart.
1. Wake Up Call

Okey dokey, here we go

**Okey dokey, here we go. This story is **_**second **_**in what is probably going to be a series. If you haven't read 'Resonance' yet, I would advise you to do that. If you can't be bothered (and who can blame you, I often can't!), you may miss some of the finer points in this story. To cut they seven-chapter story down to bite-size level, basically after Tosh and Owen died Capt. John was working for Torchwood, and then they ran into a doctor called Jess who is somehow connected to the rift giving her strange and freaky powers, and she is now working for Torchwood. Obviously more than that happened, but I can't be bothered to write it all out. Go read it if you want to know that badly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't even own the laptop I'm writing this on! (Don't worry, I didn't steal it, it's my dad's.)**

**Vengeance**

Wake Up Call

There was a phone ringing. That was the first thing to penetrate Jess's mind. She opened her eyes to see the green numerals of her clock telling her it was 2:30. She flipped open her mobile, read 'Torchwood' on the called ID and answered it.

"Ugh."

"Rise and shine, gorgeous, time for work."

"Piss off John."

"That's not rising or shining. Try again."

"It's half past two _in the morning._ Rise and shine are both still asleep, like most sane people."

"Yeah, well, the rift doesn't sleep. Something's up and Jack wants everyone in."

"OK, fine, I'll get up. Is Ianto there?"

"He never left."

"Oh, really? Hmm…"

"Why?"

"Can you ask him to make me some coffee?"

"Well, seeing as it's you…"

"Shut up and go do it."

"You really are pissy in the morning, aren't you?"

Jess hung up and dragged herself out of bed. She grabbed clothes and tied her hair back half-presentably. _Some days I really, really hate Torchwood._ _I just hope this won't run all day._

……………………

Ten minutes later she arrived at the hub, still half sleep. Everyone apart from Gwen were already in the boardroom. Ianto took one look at her and handed her a coffee. She smiled, and let the coffee wake her up. Jack looked agitated, and even though she'd only been working at Torchwood for three weeks she could guess that something was even more wrong than usual.

"Where the hell is Gwen?" Jack was getting impatient.

"Probably still asleep, sir." Ianto was the only one who could get away with saying that to Jack.

"Well, if she's not here soon we'll start without her."

"Yeah, and anyone who talks without putting their hand up first will be sent out."

There was a pause while Jess, Jack and Ianto all wondered why the hell they were working with such a madman, and then Gwen came bustling in, saying, "Sorry I'm late."

"If you'd been a few minutes later you'd have had to sit in the naughty corner."

"Shut up, John."

"Why should I do what you say, new girl?"

"Shut up, John."

"Now you're ganging up on me, Eye Candy?"

"Shut up, John."

"Jack!"

"No, seriously, shut up, this is serious."

"Oh. Sorry. _Serious."_

"We have a problem."

"Care to be a little more specific, Jack?"

"OK, what part of 'shut up' don't you understand?"

"The 'shut' part."

"OK, joking over, we do have a serious problem. There was a rift spike about an hour ago, and look at what the CCTV picked up."

There was the familiar red-gold glow of the rift, and from it walked two people. They weren't disorientated like some rift victims; they knew what they were doing. They were also both carrying guns. John leaned forward to get a closer look, and paled slightly.

"No way. It can't be."

"And yet it is. Think about it, John, if you could end up here why couldn't they?"

"We just don't get any luck, do we?"

At this point Gwen decided to voice her confusion. "Who are they?"

The person who answered wasn't who anyone was expecting.

"Time Agents."

……………

Why the rift often picked rooftops to deliver people to was unknown. The two Time Agents looked down at the sparkling lights of the city. They were unimpressed. They'd seen much better light shows in much better times. But with the Time Agency disbanded the final few rules taming them had broken free and they wanted only one thing in the city. To cause chaos. The pair of them, a man and a woman, both swept their eyes over the rooftops looking for potential targets. Somewhere bound to cause maximum panic. The woman completed her quick look and nodded at the man, who flipped open his vortex manipulator and set it to scan mode. The results made him raise an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"It's picked up two other vortex manipulators in the city."

"Identification?"

"None. Either it's been too long for the memory to hold, or we haven't worked with them."

"We can't be too careful with others. It would be safest to eliminate them now."

"It's also picked up reports of a secret organisation, Torchwood, that monitor the city."

"Special forces?"

"Maybe."

"Well, we'll just have to eliminate them, too. We can factor all this in. Create some kind of emergency, draw in Torchwood and the others, and then deal with them all before we start our real fun."

"Sounds familiar."

"That's cos we do this nearly every day, idiot. Now, let's go. Work do to, lives to ruin and all that."

"Yeah. All that."

"Shut up."

**I'm trying to write in a humorous fashion, and still keep up a good plot line. Tell me if you like/dislike/hate it. Reviews are like little rays of sunshine on this very wet day.**

**NEXT TIME: Find out who knows about Time Agents in Torchwood, see the chaos unfold and leave reviews! (OK, so I couldn't think of a third thing.)**


	2. Time Agent Trouble

Veeeery tired so please excuse daft typos and grammatical errors

**Veeeery tired so please excuse daft typos and grammatical errors. I was probably up too late reading fan fiction… but I expect we're all guilty of that.**

**Disclaimer: too tired to own Torchwood.**

Time Agent Trouble

"Time Agents."

The two words dropped like bombs and effectively killed talk for a few seconds. Then Jack asked the obvious question.

"Jess… how the hell do you know about Time Agents, and how did you work it out?"

John looked slightly ashamed. "Actually, I told her."

"Why?"

"I was bored."

"I was being nosy. We were kidnapped, there's not must to do!"

"OK, so that's how you know. But how did you work out they were Time Agents?"

"It's obvious. You and John know them but Ianto and Gwen don't – so they must be from your past before Torchwood. Also, geniuses, you're all wearing the same kind of wrist strap. Elementary, my dear Watson."

"No shit Sherlock, but what are we going to do about them?"

"I don't know. I'm just doing the detective work. You guys come up with the plan."

"Well, head-on attack won't work. We'll never be able to get the better of them. Remember how it went last time?"

"Thanks for bringing that up again, Gwen. I said I was sorry."

"About the 'radiation cluster bombs', or about the time you blew up the city?"

"Both. Especially the time I blew up the city. The cluster bombs thing was fairly harmless."

"Fairly harmless? You nearly blew us both up!"

"Is now really the time?"

From Jack's reaction Jess guessed this was an ongoing argument, and made a mental note to ask about it later.

"OK, well, Gwen's right; we can't tackle them by brute force alone. We need a plan."

"OK, Fred. Shaggy and Scooby can act as bait, Velma can work it all out and Daphne, you're with me."

There was a collection of various insults, 'shut up, John's and 'why am I so-and-so's.

"Why are you so obsessed with things designed for children today? And why the hell was I Daphne?" Jess was a little confused, to say the least.

"You sure you want to know about the child references? And the reason you're Daphne is because you're gorgeous, just like her."

"Are you actually trying to get strangled? God, it's even worse than being stuck in a cell with you!"

"For the last time, now is not the time to settle personal quarrels! Now, we need a proper plan. I suggest we split up-"

Jess sniggered, but stopped when Jack shot her a look.

"As I was saying, I suggest we split up and tackle them in two teams. Who wants to volunteer to stay on the computers?"

"I will," offered Gwen. "I'm not keen to repeat what happened last time I met a Time Agent, _John._"

"Again, I'm sorry."

"Right then, Gwen stays here to monitor the CCTV, and then we go in pairs. Me and Ianto; John and Jess."

"Is that just so you and Ianto can do more 'weevil hunting', Jack?"

"No, John, it's because Jess is still fairly inexperienced and, much as it pains me to say it, you are probably the most experienced, and therefore she'll be safe with you."

"Want to bet on that one?"

"John, if you try anything I'll put your jacket in the incinerator."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"_Anyway, _we will follow our renegade Time Agents in our pairs, and wait for a chance to separate them and take them down."

"Down town."

OK, if you're going to be like this all day please notify me now so I can _shoot_ you, John."

"Babe, you know you're only lashing out cos you fancy me really."

"In your dreams."

Jack shot a look over at the pair. "Oh dangerous territory, Jess, very dangerous territory."

John laughed an evil laugh. Jess shuddered all over.

"So after we split up the Agents how exactly do we take them out?"

Jack grinned in a way that was far from comforting.

"Use your imagination, Jess."

………………

The two Time Agents were also formulating plans. Namely where to attack first. To do this they decided to split up and look for locations to terrorize. They managed to do this with far less Scooby Doo references than Torchwood – although they didn't have to cope with a John Hart. This did of course make one less job for Torchwood, seeing as they could go straight to the second part of their plan, but it still wouldn't be easy. If the original Torchwood Three had thought one Time Agent had been hard to deal with, a pair of Time Agents was worse. And the team was hardly full strength. Gwen was avoiding going out on missions, as if the death of two of her teammates had brought home to her just how dangerous Torchwood was. Ianto had stepped up to replace her, but it didn't quite fill the gap. John, despite being seemingly a nuisance, could be counted on to help out in violent situations but couldn't make the ethical decisions. Jack actually forbade him from making any decisions without consulting someone else before hand, but he didn't expect that to actually stop him. Jess was the exact opposite. She could make quick decisions, but she'd only been using weapons for a few weeks so was of little help when things turned to actual fighting. And they were about to take on the deadly force of the Time agents.

Jess and John were trying to locate their half of the Time Agent Duo. It wasn't proving easy, and Jess decided to get back at John for being so annoying earlier.

"So what's all this Time Agent stuff? You didn't go into details before."

"It's complicated."

"Do you know these two?"

"Only in passing. It used to be a big place, before it disbanded."

"I feel the need to ask. Are all Time Agents psychopaths or does Earth just have very bad luck?"

"I have to ask. Why do you keep asking pointless questions?"

Jess knew she'd touched a nerve. There was something he wasn't telling her. Something about the Time Agency. She wondered why. They had left the main roads by this point, instead walking along back alleys. Jess was pondering what John was hiding when she heard a click behind them. She turned to look straight down the barrel of a gun.

"John. Small problem."

"Ah."

……………………

Jack and Ianto were also Time Agent hunting. As Ianto had joked, it made a change from weevils. He was also drawing blanks on the questioning, which he had tried. Obviously there was something big that had happened at the Time Agency. After looking for nearly an hour they were starting to relax and chat, seeing as they were drawing nothing but blanks. That was when the rounded a corner and walked into a gun held at head level.

**I think the message is clear: don't tangle with the Time Agency. The 'thing' that Jack and John won't talk about will come up in the story later, but is completely made up by me. As far as I know, anyway. Now, if you could leave a review to reward me for posting twice in one day, or point out some glaring mistake that I missed in my extremely sleepy state, it would brighten up my day. At least, it will tomorrow when I check my email. Did you know emails make me go 'yay, emails!'?**


	3. Cell Conversations

Well, I'm happy because when I switched my laptop on I had five emails, all to do with this story

**Well, I'm happy because when I switched my laptop on I had five emails, all to do with this story. So a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favourited. It's always nice to know people like what I write. **

**Disclaimer: if I owned Torchwood this would be on your TVs right now, and we'd be getting a proper third series instead of a mini one.**

Cell Conversation

The first thing Jess noticed when she opened her eyes was that she was indoors. The second thing she noticed was that she recognised the ceiling above her. The Torchwood cells. Then the events with the Time Agent caught up with her and she groaned. They'd been in the alleyway, and when she'd turned around there was a gun in her face, held by a woman who looked like the Time Agent they'd seen on CCTV. Then the woman's hand had moved up, and there was a sort of sizzling sound.

"Bloody stun-gunning bitch."

"That's not nice language for a polite young woman to use."

Jess sat up, and realised that in the cell with her were Jack, John and Ianto. Jack and Ianto were still unconscious. She looked round again and realised what was missing.

"Where's Gwen?"

"I don't know. She wasn't here when I woke up."

"You got stun gunned too?"

"No. she hit me with the gun."

Ianto stirred slightly on the floor, made a quiet 'mmff' noise and then sat bolt upright.

"What happened?"

Jess smiled as reassuringly as possible. "You got knocked out. I'm guessing the Time Agents didn't take kindly to being hunted."

"Where's Gwen?"

"We don't know. I hope she had the brains to hide."

There was a sort of sighing sound from Jack and he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, and then said, "Crap."

"That would be one way of putting it, yes," said John, who was being as helpful as ever.

"Oh, no," Jess groaned, having just realised what was happening. "I'm stuck in a cell with _him, again._ What did I do wrong that I should be punished like this?"

Jack sniggered, ignoring the filthy look John sent him. Jess had a sudden brainwave.

"OK, quick rule. Anyone mentions Scooby Doo and they die. And anyone mentions what happened last time we were in a cell together and they die."

"Is my name 'anyone' now?"

"Shut up, John. You know what I mean."

"Oh, you bet I do."

This made Jack curious. Ianto was staying out of it, which was probably a good idea.

"What happened?"

"I'm not telling, Jack. And John won't either."

"Oh, won't I?"

"Not if you want to be able to walk tomorrow."

There was laughing outside the cell. All four of them turned to stare at the two Time Agents watching them, clearly finding the situation amusing. The woman, who seemed to be in charge, looked at the group and said, "Oh, please, carry on, it's better than what's on TV."

The Torchwood team looked at each other and unanimously shut up. The Time Agent shrugged, and stated to turn away, then seemed to think better of it.

"Seems a shame to miss such a good opportunity to catch up. What names are you using currently?"

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Captain John Hart."

"Gosh, _captains. _You pick good people to take names from."

"What about you?" asked John, who had been lying slightly when he said he didn't know the Time Agents. "What name did you have last time we met? Something unusual, something different… Rainbows! That was it!"

Jess made a small noise that was halfway between a cough and a squeak. Then she regained control of herself, but stored the information away, just in case.

"I lost the name. I'm Lukie now."

"And I'm James," added the man, who'd been staying quiet until this point. Then Lukie seemed to remember something.

"Oh, yes, and your fifth teammate is locked in the office. She was causing trouble. Well, toodles. We'll be back later but you're out of food."

They watched the pair of sociopaths leave. Jess was the first person to break the silence.

"She's right. We are out of food."

Everyone else looked at her like she mad.

"Everything she said, and _that's _what you pick to comment on?" Jack frowned, trying to find some logic.

"What can I say? My brain follows strange paths of logic."

"You can say that again – but please don't." John had realised just in time how easy it would be for Jess to irritate using that statement.

"I'm bored," she said instead, and Jack and John both groaned. "What?"

"If you say you're bored it highlights the problem. Before I was doing OK, but now I'm bored too. Idiot."

"Don't you idiot me, John Hart. I have ways of driving you crazy you'd never even think of."

Jack burst out laughing. Jess glared at him, and he tried to get himself back under control. Ianto watched his cellmates as they fought. This was going to be a long wait.

……………

In an eight-foot-square cell privacy is hard to find. Fortunately, it was nearly night time – they could tell because the lights were starting to dim – and so to talk to someone you could just wait until everyone else fell asleep. It had been a long day, and even Jack was tired. After he and Ianto had gone to sleep curled up together on the floor John grabbed Jess.

"Why don't you want them to know what happened when we were kidnapped?"

"Why should they know?"

"No, I'm asking the questions, you are answering them."

It was times like these that reminded Jess not to push John too far. There was still a part of him that was the psychopathic Time Agent.

"Because it didn't mean anything."

"Darling, I hate to break it to you but no one kisses like that unless it means a little tiny bit."

"That's the thing. It meant – _maybe meant – _a tiny, tiny bit, but no more than that. I don't want them getting the wrong impression about me. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Oh, but I think you are."

"What the hell do you know? You don't even know me! Not really. Not enough to tell me what kind of girl I am. So why don't you just shut up, and leave me alone."

Clearly there was some history here Torchwood had missed. Jess stretched out on the floor, trying to sleep, but it didn't work. She could feel John watching her. He would be wondering why she'd overreacted. She knew it would come up eventually, but she didn't want it to. She never wanted to go back to that event. Never, ever, ever. But the staring was driving her mad.

"What!?" she finally snapped, opening her eyes again. He was watching her with a strange expression, somewhere between curiosity, worry, and something else.

"Sorry. I've obviously offended you."

"You actually apologised? Oh, when we get out of here I'm so keeping the security tape."

"You just can't be serious, can you?"

"Nope, never. But for what it's worth you shouldn't apologise, you didn't do anything."

Jack shifted on the floor, opened one eye, and said, "Are you two going to sleep at all, because if you're not it would be nice if you were a little quieter."

Jess smiled and stretched out again. John nudged her with his foot.

"Scoot over. There's no room."

"Then sleep sitting up."

He sighed, and shoved her sideways, squeezing into the space. As he shifted to get comfy Jess gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you have to wriggle so much?"

"I wouldn't if you would just budge like I asked you to."

Jess couldn't think of a reply, so she just made a rude hand gesture. He laughed, and she rolled over so she was facing away from him. She still couldn't sleep, and she heard the breathing of the others settle as they slept. She thought back to what John had said. He was right. The time they'd kissed, in the cell of a kidnapper, had meant something. But not anything big. It was nothing to do with him. It was just that she needed human closeness, and he had provided it. And she would be lying if she said she didn't want it again. But she wouldn't act on it. She wasn't the kind of girl to kiss people she didn't like.

Because she couldn't sleep, she was still awake when footsteps approached the cells. She sat up, trying to see who it was. Someone stepped closer to the glass.

**Cliffhanger! Review and I will update quickly. And maybe, possibly, there is a tiny change I'll tell you who it is.**


	4. Freedom, Of Sorts

OK, guessing time is over

**OK, guessing time is over! Special mention goes to ****riftactivity**** for the suggestion of Janet as the mysterious person. Sadly Janet wasn't available. Still, it would have been funny. Sorry this has taken so long to put up, but I had a bit of writers' block with it, plus I was really busy on Thursday with a horse show – I won a rosette! Yay me!**

**Disclaimer: Iz not myne. **

Freedom, Of Sorts

"Gwen?"

"Jess! Are you OK?"

"Yeah, we're all fine. How did you get out?"

"Jack keeps a spare office key in a drawer. I waited until they left and then let myself out. What's up with the rest of them?"

"They're asleep. Hey, you lot, wake up!"

There were a few muffled 'shuttup's. Jess sighed, stood up, and kicked everyone in turn. There was a chorus of 'ow!' and everyone sat up.

"Gwen? How did you get out?" Ianto could wake up damn quickly. Lucky sod.

"Spare key. But there's a problem."

"I have a feeling we're going to love this." Clearly John's usual sarcasm was even worse in the mornings.

"Yeah, you are. The sneaky bitch has changed the code to the cells. You're stuck."

Suddenly Jess was struck with a brainwave.

"I have an idea."

"Does it involve knocking down a building?" John was thinking back to the last cell-escape plan from Jess.

"No."

"Crushing someone?"

"No."

"Escaping through the rift?"

"No. It is a completely different idea to when we were last in a cell."

"What, then?"

"Break the lock."

"That's it?"

"I never said it was complicated. Just a plan."

"Small flaw," said Jack, having been thinking about this. "How do we break a four-inch thick steel lock?"

Jess gave one of her manic grins. "A very small earthquake."

John stepped back so he was as far away from the door as possible. "This can only go wrong."

………………

Actually it went surprisingly well. Jess didn't even bring down the building. OK, so maybe a bit more of the door got shattered than was planned, but at least no one got crushed. They were all in the boardroom, trying to decide a better action plan. Jess had informed everyone that the no Scooby Doo rule still applied. But no one was making jokes now. Things were serious.

"Pool our assets." This was the first thing Jack had said since getting out of the cell.

"What assets?" John, optimist supreme. "We have no assets. We have fairly primitive 21st century weapons, a secret base they know about, a car and a freak with rift powers – no offence, Jess."

"None taken, it's true."

"So, what assets, exactly? None of these are exactly helpful."

"You left out the two Time Agents we have, and Myfanwy."

"How is the pterodactyl an asset?"

"How is pessimism helpful?"

"Um, guys –"

"Pessimism is justified in this situation!"

"Guys, seriously –"

"Pessimism is just you trying to bring everyone down."

"Guys! I'm sure you have a riveting argument to get on with, but we have two fairly pissed-off looking Time Agents heading back here so can you please put it on hold?" Jess had been trying to get a word in edgeways for several minutes and had finally snapped. Jack looked at the CCTV, and swore in several languages. Jess saved some of the more pronounceable swearwords in her memory – in case of emergencies. Then she had a sudden thought, and it wasn't good.

"Why are they looking so pissy? They just went out to buy stuff…"

"…Unless they have a bug in here," Ianto finished for her, having had the same thought.

"Bollocks." Jack had given up on inventiveness.

"What do we do?" Gwen had a slightly panicked, wide eyed look. Not that she didn't most of the time, but now it was more obvious than usual.

"Seal the hub. Go into lockdown."

"What?

"You heard, now do it."

"OK, if you're sure."

A few key taps, and the hub sealed and darkened.

"That won't last for ever, the power will switch itself back on in a few hours, but it does buy us some time. So let's find that bug, and then have a _serious _assets talk."

………………

The bug was successfully found after a few minutes searching and destroyed by being stepped on. The assets talk was a little less successful seeing as all that was determined that despite the obvious pessimism John was right – they had no good assets. So the final plan didn't use assets – it just used violence. The plan was, in a nutshell, find the Time Agents and knock them out. Probably easier said than done, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And they had to split up into smaller groups. That had caused a few raised eyebrows.

"Jack, if they beat us in pairs how is going by ourselves going to help?" Gwen was the only one to challenge Jack outright, but Ianto and Jess were obviously thinking the same thing. It was hard to tell what John was thinking.

"If we go in small groups then it'll be harder for them to take us all out."

No one looked particularly impressed with that, but just then power returned to the hub and one of the computers politely informed them that the two people they'd been tracking had been spotted on CCTV. There was no more time for discussion. It was time for action.

……………

Lukie and James had been spotted separately, but in the same area. The team had split up as Jack had ordered, and each taken a section to sweep. Jess was on a rooftop. It was the kind with large concrete structures to hide behind, which she could have done without. It would be all too easy for someone to sneak up behind her. And, of course, that was what happened.

……………

John was in a back alley, which also provided plenty of sneaking opportunities. He was on his guard – not that he ever wasn't – but that turned out to not be enough. He didn't even realise someone was behind him until he felt the prick of a hypodermic needle.

**I feel a bit mean now, having attacked my favourite character and my own creation. Oh, well, I'm an author, it's allowed. Now, reviews would brighten up my day no end.**


	5. Attack

Sort of nearly almost done with this story

**Penultimate chapter. As before, there are more stories coming in this series. Keep an eye out for them. But I have bad news: the dreaded 'back to school' time is upon us, and updating will take longer as I won't have as much time to devote to fan fiction. **

**Big hugs to all my reviewers, alerters and readers. I do it all for you, I really do. I also do it because I'm bored.**

**Disclaimer: note how it says DISclaimer. Note the DIS part.**

Attack

Jess felt someone's hands close round her throat. Man's hands. No prizes for guessing who it was.

"James?" Her voice was strained, her air supply constricted.

He laughed. Nasty laughter. "That's not my name, gorgeous."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. Don't call me by any name."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it's fun."

"Terrorising people is fun?"

"Social standards change, gorgeous. Just ask your buddy John – if that's what he's calling himself nowadays."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the way you looked at him. You like him."

"No!"

"Yes. I'm not as stupid as people think. I'm definitely smarter than you. I worked with him for a while, and I've seen the way he works. He can wait for ages, and in the end everyone gives in. If he's got his eye on you, there's no getting out. And when he's got what he wants he abandons whoever was unfortunate enough to attract his attention. You don't stand a chance, darling."

"Shut up. He's changed."

"No he hasn't. He's the same as he ever was; he's just hiding it very well."

"Even if he hasn't changed, I'm not interested in him."

"Sure you aren't. And I'm an honest, friendly neighbour. And on that note –" his hands tightened on her neck – "I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."

……………

The hypodermic slid into John's skin easily. He knew he should have bought that invisible armour at that street trader's stall on Barcelona. He whipped around, coming face to face with Lukie.

"What the hell did you do?"

"You are a test subject for a new poison I've been working on. It's designed to cause maximum pain without killing the victim. Unfortunately I haven't got the formula quite right – currently it causes maximum pain and then kills the victim. And I sent James to take care of your latest conquest."

"Who?"

"Pretty girl. Brunette. Medic."

"Jess? She's not anyone's conquest."

"Maybe not yet. From the way you two look at each other when you think no one's looking she wouldn't have lasted long. Pity. She should have just given in while she had the chance. Now she won't get to."

John started to retaliate, but then felt liquid fire start to burn through his veins. He swore, falling to the ground. Lukie's face swam into view.

"I used to like you. I haven't forgotten that night we spent together. But you've changed, and not for the better. Goodbye, Tamar. That was the name you used last time. But I should use your current name. Goodbye, John." She turned away.

…………………

As the edges of her vision grew dark, Jess had a flash of recollection. Some old war story John had been telling her when they'd been hunting a bunch of weevils. He'd given her advice for one-on-one combat. They'd been joking about it, but the advice was real. 'Distract your opponent, then go for the weakest part of their body.' Distract him. Right. Only one way she could think of doing that.

"Strawberries!"

"Pardon?"

Jess's foot slammed into his groin. He groaned, doubling over. Jess darted away from him, gasping in air. James – or whatever the hell his name was – growled at her and lunged forwards. She reacted instinctively, stepping out of the way. Then she heard the gun click behind her. She turned to see Ianto pointing his gun at James. He scrambled back, towards the edge of the roof. Too close. He slipped, flailed for a second, and fell. Jess and Ianto ran to the edge and looked down. He was spread eagled on the ground below, and wasn't moving. Together they ran down to ground level, and over to him. Jess felt for a pulse, but there was nothing there.

"Looks like we've only got one Time Agent to worry about now."

It was as she finished her sentence that they heard a strangled scream over the comms. They looked at each other and shared the same thought: _John._

………………

Lukie was walking away, mocking John with every step. The poison was racing through him, crippling him and causing agonising pain. And he knew the only release would be death. She'd told him that herself. He was almost sorry he'd stolen her Chula ship – which Jack had then 'borrowed', never to be seen again – and left without telling her. She would have been a fearsome ally. But now she's killed him.

A crack. Lukie falls. That crack was a gunshot. Then there are hands, rolling him over. Jack's face was close to his, yelling words, but the pain was so strong that sound faded and distorted. John felt the world slipping away.

………………

"Jess!" Jack's voice sounded over the comms.

"I'm here. What's up?"

"That bitch Lukie has done something to John. I think it's poison. I need you over here now! We're behind the main shops."

"OK, I'll be there. Ianto, are you OK to stay here with our corpse?"

"That's fine. You go. Hurry!"

Jess took off at a run. It wasn't hard to find Jack. Lukie was lying dead on the ground, clearly shot through the head. John was curled over on the ground, obviously in intense pain. Jack was next to him.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. When I got here he was like this. I shot Lukie. There was a needle on the ground."

Jess picked up the needle and examined it. She took the mini analyser from her pocket and dripped the last few drops of poison onto its sensi-plate. She handed it to Jack, who was fidgeting and clearly wanted her to do something.

"Watch this; tell me when it's finished analysing."

She felt for a pulse in John's neck. It was weak and erratic. His breath was coming in short gasps. Whatever the poison was it had completely buggered up his nervous system. The symptoms weren't similar to any poison she'd seen. Of course, that would only have made it easier.

"Jess. It's finished."

She took the analyser and looked at the display. This was bad. Really, really bad.

"How bad?"

Jess realised she'd said that part out loud.

"Very bad. It's attacking his nerves. It causes extreme pain until it finally destroys enough of the nerves to kill the victim."

"Can you save him?"

Jess didn't answer. She looked at Jack, and that was answer enough. _I'll save him if I can. But I can't promise anything._

**I feel like a horrible, horrible person to do this to John. You know what will help me save him? Reviews! I will forever be nice to you if you leave one, and I'll send you mental hugs and cookies. (These aren't insane hugs and cookies. They are hugs and cookies from my mind to your mind. Mind you, if they come from my mind they probably are insane…)**


	6. Recovery

OK, so some people were a bit worried that I might actually kill off John

**OK, so some people were a bit worried that I might actually kill off John. I would never, ever do that, as he is the bestest ever. Speaking of which, please go and vote on my poll as to who is the best Torchwoodian in your opinion. Anyway, my point was that I haven't killed off anyone, but I couldn't resist a huge, dramatic chapter ending. Last chapter here, sorry guys but all good things have to end. Next story up… when I think of an idea and a title.**

**As a random note, I was rewatching Exit Wounds (sniff) the other day, and I thought of something. You know when John had just taken Jack back to AD27 and Grey said 'Get a shovel'? Where the hell are you meant to get a shovel from in AD27? Shovels R Us?**

**Disclaimer: Torchwood is property of the illustrious BBC. Check the name label if you don't believe me. Friends belongs to Channel 4, I think.**

Recovery

Jess was in the medical bay, writing up a report. Or, at least, she was pretending to write up a report. What she was really doing was watching the sole occupant of the bay, lying unconscious on one of the beds. The antidote she'd given John had stopped the poison, but there was no way of knowing how much damage had been done until he woke up. And there were no signs he would be doing that any time soon. Jess sighed and got up to check the various machines that John was linked to. It had been a week since he was poisoned, and every day she would go over the same routine. The others were worried, she knew that, but they had to deal with the usual rift alerts and weevils. Jack had told her that under no circumstances was she to go out on missions. She needed to stay at the hub in case anything changed in John's status. Jess had found this interesting in a detached sort of way. Even though Jack was clearly no longer interested in John he still cared about him. After a week with no changes, Jess was privately starting to think that the poison's damage had gone too far, and John would never wake up. She was just turning away to continue not writing her report when a hand seized her wrist. She gasped, surprised.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me, John."

There was a pause, and John said, apparently after thinking about it for some time, "Where is that bitch Lukie, because I swear I am going to shoot her."

"Too late."

"What do you mean, too late?"

"Jack's beaten you to it."

Another pause. Longer this time, while Jess searched for the right words.

"We thought you were going to die."

"So did I, but clearly I didn't."

"Antidote. But before we get into all of that, I need to ask you some serious questions."

"Man, I hate being serious."

"I know. Now, do you feel any numbness? Stiffness? Any inability to move?"

"No, no and no. And is numbness a word?"

"It is. And now we can talk about whatever, seeing as you've got no lasting damage from the poison."

There was the sound of the door alarms from upstairs.

"Ah, they must be back. Rift alert, and all that."

"You mean the rift didn't give you time off? That sucks."

"If it wakes me up in the middle of the night it's not likely to rest just because you're poisoned. And how did that happen, anyway?"

"Slippery little bitch snuck up behind me."

"Really? James tried that with me, only he strangled me. And then fell off a building."

"Did you push him?"

"No… although Ianto and I may have contributed to his falling."

There was the sound of some shouting and doors slamming above. Jess sighed, rolling her eyes. "If they're having another fight…"

"Do I detect trouble in Torchwood?"

"Jack's been worried about you, and taking it out on everyone else. I've been hiding from him down here, Ianto's alternating between hiding in the archives and letting Jack… yeah, and Gwen's been screaming right back at him. You can cause trouble even while you're unconscious. You should be proud."

"I try my best."

There was the sound of running feet.

"Ah, I think Jack has just checked the CCTV and seen you're awake. That means I should really do some of this paperwork."

Sure enough, Jack burst through the doors of the med bay.

"Jack! How many times do I have to tell you? No running in the med bay where there might be sick people!"

"Are there any sick people?"

"Well… no. But it's a matter of principle!"

"Whatever. John, how you doing?"

Jess started laughing. Jack and John gave her twin strange looks.

"You sound like Joey off Friends," she explained. Jack and John then gave twin shrugs.

"In answer to your question, I'm doing good. Jess tells me you've denied me the pleasure of shooting Lukie, though."

"Yeah, sorry. But still, at least you've woken up now. Working with only half our usual workforce is no fun."

"Being poisoned isn't exactly enjoyable."

"Yeah, I know that first hand. Since you're awake now, and presumably alright, you can get dressed and do some work."

With that, Jack left, and Jess handed over John's clothes. He was wearing a hospital-style gown thing.

"Who changed my clothes?"

Jess grinned evilly. "Jack. I blackmailed him into it with the threat of a complete painkiller ban for three months."

"You are an evil woman."

"I learnt most of it from you."

"Touché."

"Whatever. I've got work to do. You go change and then see what Jack wants you to do. You're fine, so far as I can tell, but if you get any pain or something give me a shout."

"What if I need something while you're not here?" From the tone of his voice and the way he was looking Jess could tell exactly what he meant. _Bugger those pheromones. And he is so doing that on purpose._

"Go get changed. I'm busy."

"I'm going."

He left. Jess sat down in her chair and stared at the report she was meant to be writing. She thought about what John was offering. It had been a long time since she was last with someone. She wanted that human contact. That was what he was offering. Not a relationship, not true love. Human contact was as far as it went. And she wanted it. And in the second she realised that, she knew he'd one. James had been right. In the end, everyone gives in. _Damn James. Damn John. Damn all Time Agents. Especially ones with 51__st__ century pheromones. _

"You didn't answer my question. What if I need something when you're not here?"

Jess wasn't even surprised he was behind her. She turned around. He was dressed in his usual jeans, T-shirt, boots and red jacket.

"Then you come and find me. I don't make house calls."

"Just as well. I don't have a house."

Jess thought of something Lukie had said when they were all in the cells.

"What did Lukie mean when she asked what names you were currently using?"

"John Hart isn't my real name."

"Then what is?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know what your name is?"

"The Time Agency. When you join, they use this drug on you. It's a bit like Retcon. It leaves all your memories intact, but it wipes who you are blank. No name, no personality, nothing. That's why Time Agents can seem to all be the same sociopathic freaks. They make us into the same person."

"That's awful."

"That's the Time Agency, darling. No one ever said they were nice."

"Have you noticed how we end up locked in cells together a lot?"

"I have. Are you trying to remind me of what happened last time we were in a cell?"

"Maybe."

He looked her in the eye, and smiled that predatory smile. He knew she'd given in. they stayed like that, face to face, almost touching but not quite, for three long heartbeats. Then his mouth was on hers, hard, demanding, strong. She gripped his jacket, fingers curling involuntarily. When they pulled apart, both breathing hard, all she could say was, "Wow."

"Yeah, wow. And think how good the rest must be."

"I told you. I don't make house calls. You have to come and find me."

"I'll find you. I know where you live."

"I'm counting on it."

**So? Love it? Hate it? Think Jess is an unbelievable Mary-Sue who deserves to be stoned to death? Think she's great? Reviews are love. Next story up soon!**


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